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"Longhorn" Alpha Preview
An anonymous reader submitted an actual review of the leaked Longhorn Alpha. Finally someone has provided us with more than a few screenshots. Here's your chance to see what the future of the microsoft desktop is gonna look like!
I've seen loads of leaked screenshots. Why should I believe this are not faked like they rest?
Am I the only one that still uses Windows 2000? It's clean, stable, and doesn't stick its head quite as far up my rear end as XP does...
So, (as I've said before) besides the systray, task bar buttons, icons on the desktop and the start menu we have *another* way to "quickly" get to applications and documents? Pretty soon we'll need a quick launch bar for the quick launch bars.
Am I the only one who prefers a clean minamalist desktop. I still haven't seen anything that would make me want to upgrade from 2000. Desktop themes are like kids hanging plastic effects on their cars because they think it makes them look better, it doesn't. It's just heavy crap that slows you down and gets in the way.
The "Sidebar" seems (functionally) very much like The Dock in MacOS X. The rest is just, pardon the pun, "window dressing".
The big questions have yet to be answered:
1) Is it more stable?
2) Is it more secure?
3) Will the licensing restrictions be reasonable?
I swear by MacOS X. Although I use to swear *at* MacOS 9...
what about leaked videos?
;)
I'll say it again that this server is unlikely to cope with many requests - so if anyone can provide a mirror, feel free
.. more stuff I need to disable to stop my users from hurting themselves?
Hope not.
A major objection for the average office worker to both Mac OS and Linux is the need to learn new ways of doing things, and the things they do not want to have to learn to do are often amazingly trivial. (Only this morning I had to show a white collar professional how to turn a Mac on, and explain that the reason IE didn't start immediately was because the double click interval on this particular machine was set quite short and a faster double click was needed.)
The constant drive for change on the Windows desktop could, paradoxically, reduce market share if it perceived that each new version of Windows is going to need as big a learning curve as switching. One for Apple and KDE to exploit?
Panurge has posted for the last time. Thanks for the positive moderations.
looking at the screen shots i noticed that the location bars simply say:
My Computer\ something\something else\...
does this mean they are getting away from drive letters? what a novel concept.
-- john
Instead, read about some of the new features and improvements to Windows that Longhorn introducts by reading Paul's Longhorn FAQ. I especially like the SQL Server .NET-based file system - "Originally slated for Blackcomb, I've now verified that Longhorn will ship with a new SQL Server .NET-based file system, originally code-named "Storage+". Based on the "Yukon" release of SQL Server, this file system will let Microsoft's search tools work across a wider range of storage devices, including the file system, Active Directory, SQL Server databases, and Exchange Server data stores." Sweet!
Would anyone really be worse off if Microsoft took the "my" off of "My Computer", "My Documents", etc? I already *know* that they're mine! Do people really like their computers to talk down to them like that?
Visit the
I have stopped counting the times that I've had to reboot my Jaguar workstation in the school's art lab after it failed to handle some bizarre error in Classic environment. It just gets worse with every release
I really, seriously don't mean any offense by this, but... what the fuck is wrong with you, dude?
I've been using Jaguar every day since before it was actually released; I bought a new G4 back in August, and it came with 10.2 on it about ten days before the retail boxes hit the shelves. I have never had to reboot my machine for any reason than an OS update. I shut it down once to move it to another room, and then one reboot for each of the updates since (most recently yesterday's security update). And that's all.
I'm pushing a pretty wide range of apps, too, including Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Quark (although less and less lately because it's my only OS 9 application, and InDesign is better), and sometimes Maya for doing weekly menus and signage for the restaurant. I push my machine pretty hard, and I never have the kinds of problems you're talking about.
I don't know what your deal is, but I think it's important for people to know that your experience is definitely not typical.
I write in my journal
It looks like a dreadful KDE theme.
Talk about being redundant...
I write in my journal
Features of coming Microsoft OS:es:
.NET Passport.
// Must receive clearance to do this!
// Must check that the data doesn't infringe any copyrights!
// Must check that the data doesn't infringe any copyrights!
// Must check that the data doesn't infringe any copyrights!
// OK!!!
- We'll be required to log on to our computers through
- The whole UI will be based around MSN explorer.
- If we wish to write programs that'll run, we'll have to do something like:
.NET_PROGRAM
{
MS_PALLADIUM_REQUST_SESSION();
MY PRIVATE STRING STR1 = MS_PALLADIUM_AUTHENTICATE ("NEW STRING (\"Hello world\")");
MY PRIVATE FUNCTION MAIN = MS_PALLADIUM_AUTHENTICATE ("NEW FUNCTION ()");
MY MAIN = MS_PALLADIUM_AUTHENTICATE
(
"/* Logon to passport to send the message through MSN Messenger */
PASSPORT_LOGON_();
MSN_MESSENGER_PRINT(STR1);"
);
MS_PALLADIUM_END_SESSION();
}
- Exponential growth of area of objects such as "start menu", "option bar", etc.
- Every program, file and message will of course be required to have the prefix "My".
- Exponential growth of number of alternations to an obvious and given task, for example, there'll be 62 ways to create a shortcut to a web page, none of them intuitive.
- There'll be more curves and pastel colors. By Windows 2010, there'll be curves so complex that they have to be express in 11-dimensional morphed space! Windows will require 2048-bit color GFX hardware to operate.
- Meh...
...who like to pretend that the last 30 years of UI research never happened, I'd just like to say please take some notes. Not that KDE and Gnome have to look like a cartoon (ala the default Windows settings), but that is something Windows DEFINETELY does better.
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
That sidebar looks just like the dock, only uglier and even bigger (I didn't think that was possible). I also notice it only contains MS applications... I sincerely hope that's because of this particular setup.
Did anyone else notice over 20% of the screen space was taken up by "navigational help" (eg these are the folders you might want to go to, then again you might not) in almost all of those screenshots? How does that help anyone by confusing the interface to such extremes?
I like the new preview pane, a little big for my tastes, but it's there (albeit 7 years to get right after the introduction in windows 98). I am hoping it's not hardcoded which directories you can use it in, that would be a serious shame.
I really wonder why they don't just license the look and feel of finder already, I can already tell their explorer is going to be very cluttered (then again that might be partially because of their insistance on a really pecular file heirachy for user directories..).
I live in a giant bucket.
As far as I can tell it is not possible. Would you be so kind as to point to an information source explaining how to do this?
;-)
:-/
There is no mount command.
Here's how I do it in XP...
1. Right-click My Computer.
2. Select "Manage".
3. In the Computer Manager, select "Local Disk Manager".
4. Right-click a drive.
5. Select "Change drive designations" (something similar, translating from swedish...)
6. Click "Add..."
7. Select "Mount this device in the following empty NTFS folder".
8. Voila
I don't remember how you most easily got to the Computer Manager in 2000 (I doubt you can right-clik and select "Manage"). There's a command line for it though...
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!